Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust by Jessica Dalton (7 ebook reader txt) 📖

will work on just about any male.”

“oh,” I said my face slowly heating up, “well you‘re a male and you didn‘t react.” I snapped at him again.

Dimitri turned his eyes on me and locked them on mine he didn’t say anything. He just sat there in silence for a while. The men probably thought that we were talking mind to mind, but both Dimitri and I knew that we couldn’t do that anymore, not until we had exchanged blood again.

I was starting to feel naked as his eyes bored into my own when finally he broke the eye contact and took a sip of his coffee.

I let out the breath I hadn’t known I was holding and I felt my whole body relax. Well that was strange was all I thought.

My dinner was lovely. Quinn was an excellent cook, and he seemed delighted with my praise as he watched me eat two helpings and drink three bottles of water. I was very tempted to lick my plate.

Dimitri and I excused ourselves from the table and left the men to their discussions on how many rogues they had killed that week as we made our way down to the basement where our prisoners were being held.

Alric and Baldric were standing guard of a cell door each.

With a nod from Dimitri Alric took out a key and unlocked the cell door he was standing guard over as we made our way into a room that was clearly an interrogation room. Dimitri sat at the table and I stood behind him.

Alric came in dragging a very reluctant Svlen. It made sense that we questioned him first. He was the main offender, we needed to know his story first before we could even talk to Julius.

As soon as Svlen had been put in the chair opposite Dimitri, Dimitri gave a slight flick of his wrist and dismissed Alric.

I stood to attention as soon as Alric left. Not liking Svlen being that close to Dimitri I walked around the table so that I was standing behind Svlen.

“So Svlen, explain to me why you tried to kill the Enforcer.”

There was silence as Svlen refused to answer. I really wished me and Dimitri had our mind connection right now.

“who are you working for Svlen.” I asked

“His Majesty, King Dimitri.” came the short reply.

“not anymore you don‘t and I meant who gave you the orders to kill me?”

Again there was silence.

“if you don‘t answer the questions,” Dimitri’s voice was almost casual as he spoke the next few words. “then I will keep you alive just long enough for you to wish you were truly dead and when you are begging me to kill you, you will finally give me the answers I want anyway.”

Svlen flinched.

“it would be foolish,” continued Dimitri, “to be more afraid of whoever your master is than your King. I can guarantee you that anything your master will do to you for betraying him will be like heaven compared to what I will do to you if you don‘t answer my questions. And remember Svlen your master isn‘t here now and even if he were he wouldn‘t last long enough to punish you, so you see,” Dimitri happily concluded. “you‘re fucked anyway.”

The sweat was visibly pouring off Svlen. I could just imagine what was going through his mind.

“you‘re going to kill me even if I do answer your questions!” spat Svlen

“yes I am.” Dimitri nodded his head while a slow, cruel smile spread across his face. “it really was a mistake to try and kill my Enforcer, Svlen. It really was. Normally I would leave the torturing to one of my gaurds,” Svlen flinched at the mention of torture. “but I am sure you have heard of how much I used to love torturing information out of rogues and anyone disloyal to me or my people.”

Svlen turned an interesting shade of green as he clearly remembered, and Dimitri rubbed his hands together as he relished the thought of torturing Svlen.

I didn’t know what I thought of this side of Dimitri. I understood why he would have to torture vamps including Svlen, I just wasn’t used to the word torture being thrown around in a conversation as though we were talking about the weather or what was for dinner. I had to shake off the chill that seemed to be creeping under my skin. I had to get used to this.

I unsheathed a knife from my waist holster and moved closer to Svlen.

I ran my free hand through his thick hair and then getting a good grip of it I jerked his head to the side, so that the side of his face was exposed to me.

I brought the tip of the knife to Svlen’s eye. A shudder ran the length of his body and then he seemed to freeze, he didn’t want to move in case the slightest movement caused the knife to slice through him.

I started to move the knife almost lovingly up and down the side of his face the tip of the knife only ripping the top layer of his skin.

“do you like my knife Svlen?” I asked him conversationly as a slow stream of blood ran down his face and started to soak his black t-shirt. “it‘s brand new, Dimitri just gave it to me, so you’re the first vamp I‘ve used it on. I would really like to have a vamp to try in out on properly. You know practise makes perfect and all that. What do you think?”

Svlen’s didn’t say anything but his eyes had gone wide and they were darting all around the room as though he was looking for someone to help him. He seemed to be more afraid of me than of Dimitri at the moment.

I laughed at him and he flinched at the sound that not even I recognised. The knife sank deeper into his flesh though as he flinched and he swore colourfully in pain.

“I personally hope you don‘t answer our questions Svlen. I would love to watch Dimitri work you over, I could probably learn a few things from him, what do you think Dimitri?” I asked as I looked up at him, “we could add torturing Svlen to my training schedule, I could do my laps, then my weight training, then fighting, then target practise and then to finish up the session we could jog over here and you could teach me the art of torture.”

I was surprised at how calm my voice was, wow it really didn’t take me too long to get into the swing of things did it?

“I think that is a brilliant idea Ashes.” Dimitri said as we smiled at each other. I had moved my knife away from Svlen so he was able to look at both me and Dimitri.

“you two are crazy, do you know that.” he spat.

“well why thank you, Svlen, that really means a lot coming form the vampire who tried to kill me yesterday.” I said as I brought the knife back to his face this time drawing blood from one ear down and across his throat and up to his other ear. It was a shallow cut, and would only sting Svlen. But I marvelled at the sharpness of the knife all the same.

“I must say Dimitri,” I said as I admired my knife work, “I really like your choice in knives.”

“thank you Ashes, what do you say we go up stairs and have a drink before bed. We can continue this tomorrow.”

“sounds good.” I said as I wipe the blood from the knife onto Svlen’s t-shirt and then re-sheath it.

As though Alric knew we were finished he suddenly opened the door and lead a very willing Svlen back towards his cell.

“that was fun!” I told Dimitri as we entered the drawing room upstairs. I collapsed onto one of the sofa’s as Dimitri went over to the wet bar and poured us a whiskey each.

“I‘m glad you think so.”

He sat next to me as I downed mine in one and then jumped up for the bottle, bringing it back to the sofa with me I settled in and put my legs over Dimitri’s lap.

He raised an eyebrow at me as I poured my third shot of whiskey and offered to top his first glass up.

“I shouldn‘t even be giving you whiskey, your only twenty.” he said.

“I’ll be twenty - one in…..” I thought about it and then I realised what the date was, “I‘ll be twenty one on Tuesday.” I told him triumphantly - I couldn’t believe I had forgotten. “besides I‘m Irish so I have been legally drinking for three years already and illegally drinking for five years.”

“really?” Dimitri asked sitting up straighter. Obviously my little slip of the tongue on when my birthday was, wasn’t going to go unnoticed. “we‘ll have to do something for your birthday then.”

“hmmm, do we have to?”

“yes we do.” he told me very seriously.

Then taking the bottle off me he pulled me to my feet.

“come on we need to exchange blood again.” he told me as he led me up the stairs.

The house seemed empty we didn’t meet anyone as we made our way to my room.

Once inside, Dimitri pulled his top over his head. This time he had nothing on underneath.

I watched him get comfortable on my bed and then I looked down at what I was wearing and then back at him.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow in question.

“Give me a minute,” I told him as I headed into my walk- in wardrobe. I had unpacked my clothes earlier that day and had hung them along with my new leathers.

I found my pyjamas in a draw at the back of my wardrobe. After hanging up my clothes I pulled on my shorts and vest top and after a moment of deliberation I decided to keep on my bra. Much safer that way.

I didn’t look at Dimitri as I came out of the wardrobe and headed for the bathroom. After I had finished I re-entered the bedroom and climbed onto the bed.

“same as before?” I asked Dimitri.

“yep.”

I finally looked up at him and he caught my eyes with his own. Damn it, I am going to have to avoid looking at him from now on if he is going to catch me off guard like this all the time.

It took a lot of effort but I managed to break eye contact with him for the first time.

I climbed in between his legs and leaned back against his chest with my head resting on his left shoulder and then I exposed the right side of my neck to him.

Before I could even blink, Dimitri had slit his wrist and had it to my mouth. I immediately latched my mouth onto his open wound.

Moaning deeply I drank him in. He really did taste delicious. I had only taken two pulls on his wrist when Dimitri’s hand slid up over my thigh, over my hip, up my side